Benjamin Cabrera Facts
Benjamin Cabrera Facts
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| Interesting Benjamin Cabrera Facts: |
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| Benjamin Cabrera became a doctor in 1945 after earning his degree at the University of the Philippines. |
| From there he went on to Tulane University to finish his studies in medicine. |
| In 1950, he completed his studies at Tulane with degrees in public health and major parasitology. |
| He has written more than one hundred different studies on how parasites impact the public. |
| These studies led to innovations by Cabrera, especially in drugs to treat parasites carried by mosquitos and in the soil. |
| He began important work on malaria studies in 1961, along with Dr. Lee M. Howard. |
| One of Cabrera's chief contributions was his research into filariasis, a disease caused by a roundworm spread by infected mosquitos. |
| There are eight different varieties of the Filarioidea roundworm that infect humans. |
| Cabrera's work on filariasis earned him numerous honors, including the Philippine Legion of Honor in 1966. This award is given by the country's president for important contributions to society. |
| Cabrera's research into these roundworms led to the development of a drug that prevented the parasite from infecting the individual. |
| Cabrera is also known for his contributions in controlling ascariasis, a disease caused by another infectious roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides. |
| Ascariasis was particularly worrisome due to the fact that 85% of cases exhibit no symptoms, meaning the infected individual does not seek treatment and can continue to spread the worm's eggs. |
| Ascaris worms are particularly troublesome as they burrow through the gut wall until they reach the lungs, where they take root in the alveoli. |
| The ascaris worms are spread through infected soil, and Cabrera's work sought to reduce the number of infections through contaminated soil. |
| Cabrera's work has been important in understanding how these parasites are spread, as well as how to treat and prevent resulting infections from the parasites. |
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